There was one death in the city. In Queens, a woman was killed when a tree fell on her parked car. No injuries were reported on the Island, where Port Richmond and New Brighton were the hardest-hit communities. A wind gust of 74 mph was recorded in Tottenville.

The storm hit Huguenot -- shortly after the National Weather Service issued a tornado watch at 5:25 p.m. in the area -- Oakwood and Todt Hill at 5:30 p.m., and the vicinity of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and Tompkinsville at 5:35 p.m.

Hundreds of trees toppled and took down power lines, leaving 5,978 Island customers without electricity, according to Mark Irving, a spokesman for Consolidated Edison. Irving said the greatest challenge in restoring power was getting past fallen tree limbs that blocked entire streets, but he said crews would work around the clock.

"This is not the worst, but it is pretty bad because it was fast-moving," Irving said of the storm. "It came through at about 5:30 and started taking out our customers at 5:35. Gusts were up to 50 mph and we could just see people dropping off the grid. ... We were monitoring the weather. We were waiting for it. We just didn't know the impact of it."

The South Shore sustained heavy damage, City Councilman Vincent Ignizio confirmed, as he surveyed his district.

"I'm not a meteorologist, but it looks like an extreme weather event occurred in Tottenville," he said. Ignizio reported multiple trees down on multiple blocks, including and surrounding Carteret Street. The grounds of Mount Loretto in Pleasant Plains also took a beating.

Among Island buildings that lost power was the courthouse in West Brighton, forcing cancellation of last night's small-claim cases. Officials said plaintiffs will be receiving new hearing dates from the court.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who toured the damage in Queens, said schools would open today. There were reports of damage to school buildings, he said, "but as the night goes on, we'll make sure that everything is safe."

A TORNADO OR NOT?

But was it a tornado that battered the borough?

Frank Straight, senior meteorologist at AccuWeather, said he could not make a declaration until damage is surveyed today. There was confirmation of at least one funnel cloud -- in Huguenot at 5:35 p.m. Funnel clouds, Straight said, are rotating winds, much like a tornado; the difference is, they don't reach the ground.

Whatever it was, it spooked folks across the city, some of whom expressed amazement that they had lived to tell of the gale's fury.

Deseree Fisher of Graniteville said she was walking with her chihuahua puppy to buy dog food from the corner store when the sky turned an eerie, almost emerald, shade of green. Within moments, a swirling cloud descended from the sky, drenching her, then lifting her and slamming her against a nearby tree.

"It had just started raining, and then all of a sudden it came down like holy hell," she said. "I can't even explain it. It felt like I was in the middle of a hurricane. I thought I was going to die."

Other people reported a strange sound during the storm.

Mike Oates, a photographer who often shoots for the Advance, said he couldn't even get from his house to his car to pick up his camera and equipment because the winds were so strong.

"I could hear it," he said. "It sounded like a locomotive, like a freight train. It was a very loud roar."

He then saw extreme damage to the field at Port Richmond High School, near where the windows of two city buses had blown out.

At the same time, Holly Orlando, a swim coach at the school, called off practice. The students ran for cover inside the school, while Ms. Orlando jumped into her car to race home.

She was only able to go several yards before her car was pelted by tree branches. She stopped when a tree fell in front of her car and screamed when a second tree fell beside her car, blocking her in. A third tree fell right behind her car.

"I really thought I was going to die," she said. "I'm amazed the trees hit every part of my car, but didn't come on top. The wind sounded like a growling and I could see the clouds swirling counterclockwise 10 feet above me. I just sat there and my heart was pounding. I didn't know what to do."

After about a half hour, several students and people from the neighborhood lifted the tree off her car so she could move.

BURST OF DESTRUCTION

In New Brighton, homeowners who watched the short, destructive storm were convinced that there was a tornado.

Mary Shipp was sitting on her front porch when "the darkness and the wind came right down Franklin Avenue. I never saw anything like it before -- it was very scary," she said, surveying broken-off tree limbs scattered on the sidewalks and in the street. A tall, ragged stump from a towering old tree lay in front of Christ Church across the street.

"The strong wind lasted for only a few minutes," added Michael Carr of Tysen Street, who watched from his side window fronting Henderson Avenue. "It's unbelievable the damage that was done in such a short period of time."

The weather poses no threat today. It's expected that showers will linger until noon, at which time the sun will begin to break through. The forecast high is 76, with the wind to the northwest at 4 to 8 mph.